Articles

The commercial drone market is set for massive growth, according to a new report available from Market Research International. Commercial drones (otherwise called unmanned aerial systems) currently account for $609 million in sales. This is set to grow to $4.8 billion by 2021 - exponential growth by anyone's standards.

Where is the growth going to come from? Well, in addition to the obvious military applications, there are a broad spread of industry sectors that will drive growth, including oil and gas mapping, utility line inspections (e.g. electricity cables), parcel delivery, private security, border patrol, photography, crowd management, and agricultural applications. Replacing human inspection with drones is a less costly affair.

Consumers are also buying drones in their millions, although there has been some public disquiet about the use of drones by the public and the need for tighter regulation. There are regulations in place covering the use of drones, but given the expected growth in commercial drones, regulations are likely to be tightened up significantly.

In February 2015, The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a policy that would replace the current near-ban on flying drones for commercial purposes with a simple approval process for operators governing commercial flight of any drone up to 55 pounds. Operators would be required only to pass a written exam on FAA rules to obtain a certificate from the agency for drone flying, and to comply with certain safety requirements. The test must be passed again every two years.

Those safety requirements would limit commercial drone flights to below 500 feet, during daytime hours and within sight of the operator. Notably, the proposed rule would also ban flying commercial drones near airports or over people not involved in the drone's flight.

According to the author of the team that prepared the commercial unmanned aircraft market research study, "Commercial unmanned aircraft are small, light, speedy devices able to field many different payloads for mapping, surveillance, and delivery. Commercial unmanned aircraft promise to proliferate, paving the way for a new world order based on innovation. The commercial unmanned aircraft are perhaps the most innovative, most interesting technology emerging."

The new 630 page report, Commercial Drones: Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021, provides a detailed examination of the potential of commercial drones. The study profiles the leading players in the market and provides market forecasts.

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